March 30, 2012

"Ohio's execution process, Death Row inmates face uncertain future"

The title of this post is the headline of this new piece from my own Columbus Dispatch. Here are excerpts:

With Ohio’s execution process tied up in court, 153 inmates on Death Row face an uncertain future. The 2011 Capital Crimes report, issued today by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, summarizes the status of the death-penalty process, including the 12 inmates with scheduled execution dates and 46 inmates lethally injected since 1999. The report, required annually by state law, goes to the governor, state lawmakers and the courts.

What DeWine’s report does not say is when, or if, executions will resume. Reginald Brooks, a Cuyahoga County man who murdered his three sons in their beds, was the last person executed, on Nov. 15 last year.

Since then, the state has been tied up in federal court on a legal challenge to the lethal injection process. U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost has been highly critical of the state’s lethal-injection protocol and stopped an execution; Gov. John Kasich postponed others, anticipating federal court entanglements....

DeWine reported there are 14 convicted killers with scheduled death dates, although the number is now 12 with two having been postponed. The death dates run through Jan. 16, 2014. The 46 men who have been executed were responsible for killing 76 people, 17 of them children.

UPDATE: This follow-up article, headlined "Ruling is near on capital punishment," suggests a ruling in to be coming soon concerning Ohio's lethal injection process:

U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost said this week that he will make a decision “in due course” on a legal fight over Ohio’s lethal-injection protocol. Frost recently finished a seven-day hearing on the case of Mark W. Wiles of Portage County. He is set to be executed on April 18.

Because of continued litigation over the lethal-injection process, there has not been an execution in Ohio since Nov. 15 when Reginald Brooks, a Cuyahoga County man who murdered his three sons, was put to death. Frost found flaws in state procedures in that case, effectively putting executions on hold.

In addition, the full 2011 Capital Crimes report issued yesterday by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is avaiable via this link.